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14 August 2010

Mystery Moves

Q: How can I study chess960 opening theory without using example games?  A: Only with great difficulty.  Q: Where do I find example games?  A: By following the method in the post Finding Games by Good Chess960 Players.

The current top rated chess960 player at Chess.com goes by the nickname posporov051560 and is rated 2253. His profile says that his 'Best Win' was against DavidKhachatryan, rated 2171. I found the game here: posporov051560 vs DavidKhachatryan (SP949 RKBBRNNQ). After the moves 1.Nf3 e5 2.d3 d6 3.e4 the players reached the position in the diagram.

In this position I would probably have been thinking about where to castle. It's not clear which side is more appropriate. To castle to either side, the two Bishops must move, and to castle O-O, the two Knights must also move.

Instead of moving any of the minor pieces, Black had something completely different in mind. He played 3...a5. White countered with 4.a4, a move that stops Black's further expansion on the Queenside. At first I thought this move was forced, but then wasn't so sure. Perhaps White can castle O-O, allow Black to advance Pawns on the Queenside, and use them as objects of attack.

After fixing the a-Pawns on a4/a5, both players followed up with the Rook lift (Ra3 & ...Ra6), then blocked further movement of that Rook with the b-Pawn (b3 & ...b6). It would be interesting to have the idea explained by one of the players, because I don't understand it at all. Whatever the reason, here's the complete game score, courtesy Chess.com. Note that neither player castled.

The game appears to be one half of a mini-match. I found another game by the same players with the same start position, colors reversed: DavidKhachatryan vs posporov051560. The same a4 & ...a5 idea was used in this game.